NEVEN

Hours in bed, in one place for far too long while his two friends hovered over him. Their grim expressions spoke of a troublesome matter, but Neven kept his arms folded against his chest and behaved lest Yuo got the urge to correct him on his behaviour. The Warden chirurgeon glared down at him, flipping pages of their leatherbound notebook. "If you want to avoid chronic burnout, get rest. Take a full phial of essence before breakfast and supper. Take a pint before you go to sleep. It should ease your magick. If you do this for two weeks, you shouldn't have any more issues — as long as you don't push yourself." Neven scowled when he was tapped with the leatherbound tome.

"Is it that severe?" Neven asked.

"I've seen worse, but I've seen better." Yuo pushed a scroll into Kemal's hands. "I'm not taking anymore questions," he said when Kemal opened his mouth. "You'll recover, but don't drink too much essence. You'll overload your magick and I could tell you horror stories."

Both men rushed out of his room and left him in silence. Neven overturned on his side and closed his eyes. His body refused to cooperate whenever he tried to sit up, so he gave up the fight. It proved far too boring. He dug his fingers into the mattress, dreaming of home, the barracks and his fellow squires telling stories of heroes and martyrdom. In his lapses, he lost track of time in a blizzard of his soul. One moment, light strewn through the curtains of his window. In the next, dusk took over. Neven sighed, but stopped when small footsteps shivered his feathers.

A sickly pallor of gray met him when Yuven crept to his side. Book tucked underneath one arm, the young Avaerilian let out a quiet squeak through squished cheeks as he climbed onto the edge of the bed and opened the book.

"Can't sleep?"

Yuven ignored him.

Neven lost grip on his consciousness. Days dragged on the longer he remained bedridden. It proved difficult for a restful sleep when Yuven came into his room every other night, book in hand to fall asleep in his shadow. Neven adjusted the blankets for Yuven to use and have space, but the child stuck close to him. Days moved, and he found the strength to leave his bedroom to sit on the couch on the bottom floor, taking his medicine as directed by Yuo and Yuven's breakfast on the rune oven. I guess the diet change helped... Yuven hasn't had any of those... flashes Yuo's detailed in his book. Shivers of hope rolled over his feathers as he rifled through his favorite Naveeran fairy tales. Those which spoke of the Knights of the Round, riding on hippogryph back to do battle with Naveeran's mythic enemies.

Over on the stove, the pot hadn't bubbled yet. Neven sat up to check it, but froze when something landed on his lap instead.

Yuven Traye, arms folded with his daily lavender glare. Neven eyed him in return, reluctant to push him off — the closest the young Avaerilian came to him. "Yuven," he said and pushed a smile on his face. "I need to go check on your breakfast." Unable to keep up the smile when Yuven turned over and curled up with a huff. Left ignored, Neven looked around for an escape, but found none, not without disturbing Yuven. Of all the times... He sighed with a smile. Good... this is good. But I still need to check his breakfast, then write that weekly report that the Warden-Commander wanted from me. He tapped his fingers against the book, then an idea lit up in his mind. "Yuven?" He waited for him to turn his head. "How does your magick work?" Ignored once again, when Yuven took magick far more seriously than being a child and having fun. Neven examined him, then relaxed when Yuven had dozed off. Well... at least he's getting some sleep.

He used a forearm to support Yuven's head before returning to his stories on the Knights of the Round. The front door clicked open, and Neven lifted his head in time for Kemal to enter the house. Book moved out of his way, he beamed at his Oathbound when he examined them both. "He attached right quick. You should give yourself more credit, Nev. I think you could get a grip on this kid thing if you figure out what not to do."

"Did Yuo give you another list?"

Kemal waved the paper in front of his face. "And he still wouldn't take any questions, which I thought was rude. I did take a look though, since I know you were uncertain about being able to handle it." He dropped it into his hands, and Neven kept it close to his heart. "I don't think I'd be able to handle his diet."

"Well, you're not a child nor a Corruptor," Neven pointed out. "Though, I think somewhere deep in that gnarled heart of yours is a curious child who wants to know everything." Feathers fluffed, he chuckled when Kemal narrowed his eyes at him.

"You're supposed to be in bed. Pray Yuo doesn't catch you." Kemal looked down at Yuven, then grunted, "He startled me yesterday."

"What? How?"

"I'm not surprised you slept through it. Little ghost decided to come out of the wall and scream in my ear."

Neven beamed though Kemal scowled. "It's good that he's showing himself to you!" Hands clapped together, trying not to bounce his knees at the wonderful news of adjustment and normality. "That's wonderful! Don't you know how wonderful that is?" Victory in reach, he made sure Yuven remained in slumber as he moved the little Avaerilian off of him to stand, though froze when Yuven squinted open his eyes with a pout. "Good afternoon, how was your nap?"

"I didn't nap. I was awake the whole time," he stated. "I'm not a napper like you." Neven grunted when Yuven used his knees as a launch pad to land on the ground, but he straightened himself out when Yuven let out a wet hack, bringing a hand up to his lips. Though he reached his hand out to steady the child, he scrambled out of his reach with a tiny hiss. "I'm alright!" He held himself so strong against ashen features, his lips pale. "I don't need your help. You wasted all your energy for nothing, and that's stupid." Into shimmered snow he went, disappearing as a ghost.

Kemal tilted his head back and forth. "I'm sure you'll get there eventually."

"Has the mail come in, by the way?" Neven asked as he headed into the kitchen.

His Oathbound's fingers curled, but considered him. "Why? Expecting mail from Yusari?"

"Oh! Well..." Heat washed up to his cheeks. "Yes, but I'm also expecting mail from Irimount. You see, I sent Mother a letter detailing what I got myself into, and like I told you, she was a midwife — or whatever the Common term was." Quickly shaking his head, he got back on track, "So, I thought what better way to make sure I'm doing everything right then to ask someone who did it for a living..." Words faltered on his tongue when Kemal's strong eyes widened slightly. "Is... should I not be doing that? You are the one who has many siblings."

Rapid-fire blinks were his only response. "What? No. It's good you're seeking advice."

"I'm also not as good a cook as my mother was and I wanted her advice." He put the pot on the rune oven as Kemal headed for the hallway. Ripples of distortion crawled through his magick, and he gave a dramatic start when Yuven leaped out of the counter with a shout. Knees buckled as he held onto the counter, he held his heart with a smile at Yuven.

At his giggle, victory was at his fingertips when Yuven bolted to rejoin Fenrer, who had been peeking around the corner. "I scared Neven! You should've seen his face!"

With his back turned, Neven raised a hand up to his lips when Fenrer studied him, to keep quiet their little secret. "You're getting better at that!"

"I can't scare you though..."

"I'm an Aurus!" Fenrer bounced, his excitement clear for all to see, though Neven frowned at the cruel band around his forearm. "I can see through illusions! You can't trick me!"

Yuven stuck his pale tongue out.

"I'll let you know when the next batch of letters come, and, I hope I don't have to say this, but you have to keep in contact with Yusari," Kemal said when he made his return from the back pantry, setting a bag of flour on the counter, though his face turned disgruntled when the two children rushed around his legs. "Oi! If you don't get out of my way I'm going to step on you."

Neven laughed and moved Yuven's po into the cooker, twisting the dials while Yuven retreated through the cupboards, forcing Fenrer to go around the other side with his own giggle. As he turned around, Fenrer's steps faltered with a tilt. Chills crept up his spine and time dragged its teeth against his frozen skin. The curse of Avaerilians. Underneath piles of snow dunes with no escape. It screamed at him to move. The golden wyvern roared into his reflection. Where is it? He fumbled in his pockets. Where did I put it?

Kemal set the plates at the table with none of his dread, even as his eyes started to slowly raise to the two children in the living room.

Thirty seconds.

Yuven hit the floor and stiffened.

Thirty seconds.

Convulsions wracked his body while Fenrer had gone still. Knowledge out of his reach, he found himself unable to breathe right along with his charge when black ooze spilled past his lips. Frost acted as a third eye to pain and smothered the soft purples. Magick tendrils dug into his eyes, and Yuven cried between chokes, spasms, and fighting for his breath.

Fenrer's shoulders hunched when he looked back at the two adults they depended on. "What's happening...?"

Kemal jerked and raced to push him. "Wake the hell up, Nev."

Disbelief chained him in panicked chains.

Thirty seconds.

"Pass..." Neven hit his knee off the counter to wake himself up. "Pass me some towels!" Up to Yuven's side, he slid onto his knees to move him onto his side to ease the flow. Towels smacked the side of his head, and he scrambled to straighten them out while Yuven's breaths turned into pitiful wheezing.

Forty seconds.

No. No. No. "Kemal, get Yuo!" Neven snapped his attention to Fenrer when his own breaths came in short, terrified bursts and the auric flames burnt the forest. "Get him out of here!"

"What's happening?" Fenrer whimpered.

"Listen to me," Neven pleaded and held onto Yuven while the expulsion flash tortured the child, brushing the white strands off his clammy brow. "Go get Yuo."

"But the thorn is strangling him!" Fenrer stomped. "I can pull it out—!"

"No!" Neven bit on his failures when Fenrer flinched. "Go with Kemal. I can do this."

I hope.

Thoughts slipped out of his fingers, replaced with black blood. Fifty seconds. Minutes. He gripped onto Yuven's small arm and listened to his chokes, until they tapered off into silence. Until his cries filled the grave of quiet. "No no," he trilled and squeezed Yuven. "It's alright. I'm here. You're okay now."

"Make it go away... it hurts so much," Yuven begged through his sobs. "I want them to leave me alone."

Twenty seconds of utter hell.

I can cut a Derelict with a crescent blade. I can't... fight this with a crescent blade.

Yuven had dozed off into restless sleep when Yuo returned with a bag, but no Kemal and Fenrer in sight. "Bring the towels up to his room," the Healer ordered. "I can stabilize him up there."

Neven scooped Yuven into his arms with the clean towels. Up the staircase with Yuo, he rushed to put Yuven into bed, a tortured chirp leaving through his own throat when he was forced to step back. Useless as a golden warrior. Shadows curled around the room, and he dug his fingers into the wall while his fangs slid over the edges of his tongue. Magick-infused cloths found themselves in Yuo's hands when he wiped Yuven's mouth.

"I know it's a lot," Yuo said as he washed off the rest of Yuven's face. "There's not much we can do once they start. How long did this one last?"

"Th..." Neven jabbed his tongue with a fang to make himself talk. "A minute."

Yuo produced a phial of golden essence to slip droplets past Yuven's pale lips. "Nothing left but to let him sleep," he whispered. "Neven..." He frowned when the Healer aged decades in a moment. "I need to tell you something. Outside." Neven squeezed himself against the wall before following his friend out of Yuven's room, shutting the door behind him. With its final click, Yuo licked at his lips and whispered, "You aren't going to like what I'm about to say."

"What?"

"Did Commander Faehariel tell you why people refused to take charge of Yuven?"

"She mentioned it was because of misunderstanding what a Corruptor is?" Neven shook his head. "I don't understand it still, he is just a child. He didn't ask for this. I'm sure once... once your team finds something to help—"

"That's a part of it, but not the full story. I know she was desperate to find someone to take care of him." Yuo gave a slow shake of his head. "Neven... did you study Corruptors at all during Training? Heard anything about them?"

"I know they're people whose souls got touched by the Echo Obscura, directly from a Husk," Neven recited. "Why?"

"Not once has anyone been able to uncorrupt a Corruptor."

"...so? I just need to..." Neven paced the hall with a soft hum to rattle his vocal chords. "I'll figure something out. He won't need to live in pain." A sharp nod cracked his neck. "Mother's taken care of sickly children before and they made it—"

"Yuven won't live past his twenties."

Something creaked in the house.

"What?"

"Another reason people didn't want to take guardianship of Yuven... is because they didn't want to deal with that hard truth," Yuo replied. "Not many have the mental fortitude to care for a terminally ill child, let alone Corruptors who are stigmatized enough as it is." Yuo glanced at Yuven's door. "Obscura Hells, it's rare for a child Corruptor to survive the initial aftershock expulsion. It's often too much on their bodies."

Victory slipped out of his reach. "There must be a cure, a way to help. We've dealt with the Derelicts for nigh a thousand Turns? Is there nothing?" Neven took a step forward to keep it at his fingertips. "He is a child, you can't be serious that he won't live to his prime? That he will not even grow his adult feathers before..."

Yuo bowed his head. "I'm afraid there's nothing we know that can stop this. I've looked through so many books, I was there when he was first brought in." The usually stoic healer showed the first flickers of emotion, and Neven tried to find a breath of life at the despair. "If there was a way, I'd have tried it already. But at least in your care, he can get a quality of life he wouldn't have had otherwise. You're a good man. I'm sorry you weren't told sooner, I had hoped, and still do hope that you can withstand this."

"...did Kemal know?"

"More than likely." Yuo gave a slow nod and sucked in his lips. "Corruptors are more common in Derelict infested areas... and Haneka is a hotbed for it. Especially in the area of Draken's Descent."

Neven swayed on his knees, but held himself tall as the Grand Spire of Irimount though the floorboards threatened to cave underneath him. "...I see." Cold hands restricted his throat. "That's... a shame."

"I'll ease him back into it with stardust," Yuo said with a heavy sigh and a pat of his belt. "I thought it best not to keep you in the dark any longer

Icicles burst out of the back of the reprobate creature of hell. Its tongue lolled out of its mandible, hungry, but never satisfied with death alone. Hands in front of his face to block out reality, to hide from it, the mirror on the other side fogged up when the wyvern on the other side rested the crown of its head against it with a soft moan. Dampness stuck to his palms, but he jolted at a voice in the distance.

"Neven?" a small, weak voice called out.

Neven tapped his brow, and let it go.

Back to Yuven's side, he sat on the edge of his bed. "Did the essence Yuo gave you help?"

"No. It hurts..."

Neven bit on his tongue, but opened his arms for Yuven, unable to even smile when the child buried into him for protection, stability, and support of a short life. No victory... without sacrifice.

"Why are you doing this?" Yuven took the rest of the medicine when Neven nudged it into his hands. "Why are you helping me? I'm your enemy. I'm a shadow..."

Neven held him close. "I don't expect or want anything for doing the right thing," he mumbled, choking on tears. "I do this because I want to, and I don't want anything for it."

"People aren't like that. People are mean." Yuven clung onto him. "People don't do something for nothing."

Neven gave a tiny shake of his head to chase away the itching despair in his heart. "Why would I want to be like them? Why would I bring darkness, when I can bring the light?"

Yuven cried. "That's stupid." Neven relaxed, but paused when Yuven sniffed. "Don't leave... at least, not until I fall asleep."

No victory... without sacrifice.

"You will bleed and suffer for your efforts," Faehariel warned him. "You will be all that stands between them and the abyss."

It didn't take long for Yuven to lapse into sleep. Tucked in, Neven sucked in a breath and hurried out of his room. Out of the hall, he went to escape when Kemal slipped out of Fenrer's room. "Nev?" He approached. "Are you—?"

Neven threw his hand at Kemal to keep him away, trying to keep his emotions in check until the last moment, when he hit his bed and cried himself.